Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sealing device for sealing the side regions of a conveyor belt, a sequence of sealing elements being arranged on either side of the longitudinal axis of the conveyor belt in the edge region of the conveyor belt in each case, which sealing elements are spaced apart and rest on the surface of the conveyor belt in a resilient manner, the individual sealing elements being arranged at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the conveyor belt and pointing in the direction of movement of the conveyor belt by their inner end.
Description of Related Art
A sealing device having the aforementioned features is known from JP 10152214 A in the application of a skirt for sealing a transfer chute against a conveyor belt which extends therebelow. Where the lower edges of transfer chutes for conveyor belts have to be sealed relative to the conveyor belts located therebelow in order to prevent conveyed material and/or trails of dust escaping, the abovementioned document JP 10152214 A proposes a sealing system which consists of sealing elements which are resiliently and pivotally suspended on a side wall of the transfer chute. The plate-like sealing elements rest on the surface of the troughed conveyor belt in a planar manner, groove-like depressions for connecting connection rods being formed in the surface of the sealing elements. This is intended to make it impossible for the material on the conveyor belt to fall off the side of the conveyor belt during transportation.
The known sealing device is disadvantageous in that, due to the sealing elements resting on the surface of the conveyor belt in a resilient manner, material can slide under the contact surface of the sealing elements and is then rolled under the sealing elements, which are resting on said conveyor belt surface in a planar manner, due to the movement of the conveyor belt relative to the sealing elements. This not only places strain on the surface of both the conveyor belt and the sealing elements due to the friction generated, but in fact, depending on the formation of the material to be conveyed, can also lead to sticking and adhering and the sealing elements can even be lifted off the conveyor belt, which can stop the sealing elements from working properly or at all.
Another design of a sealing device is described in WO 91/09798 A and consists of a retaining plate, which is attached to the outside of the side wall of a transfer chute, and a sealing element which is resiliently movable on said plate in a linear manner towards the conveyor belt which runs below the transfer chute. The sealing-lip-like sealing element, which consists of a flexible material, in particular an elastomeric plastics material, rests on the surface of the troughed conveyor belt by its front leading edge. This sealing device is disadvantageous in that, due to the sealing lip element resting on the conveyor belt by its end face, linear contact is made between the belt of the conveyor belt and the sealing element. This linear contact often causes grooves to form in the circulating conveyor belt, because even when a groove is just starting to form, conveyed material is deposited in the grooves, making the grooves deeper during further operation and at the same time leading to increased wear of the sealing element which interacts with the groove formed in this way. As a consequence, already-formed grooves and increasing wear of the linearly resting sealing element mean it is no longer ensured that the transfer point is properly sealed. In addition, linearly functioning sealing systems of this kind have to be readjusted more frequently due to wear and are not maintenance-free in this respect.
The object of the invention is to provide a seal of the type mentioned at the outset which ensures low wear of the conveyor belt and effective sealing properties at the same time.